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Chocolate Festival coming up Nov. 3 |
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Written by Erin Everett/Special to the World
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Monday, 22 October 2007 |
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Tahoe Women’s Services 19th Annual Chocolate Festival is right around the corner so prepare your taste buds for fantastic treats. The festival, which takes place Saturday, Nov. 3 at the North Tahoe Conference Center from 7-10 p.m., will once again bring together the exquisite tastes of chocolate and wine.
Tickets are available for $40 in advance and $50 at the door. But be prepared and buy early — this event sells out. To order tickets with a credit card call (775) 298-0010 or visit our website at www.tahoewomenservices.org. Otherwise, visit one of our outlets throughout the community.
Tastings of fantastic wines will be provided this year by eleven great wineries: M2 Vintners, Inc., Truckee River Winery, Fawnridge Winery, Tin House Winery, Ehrhardt Estates, Four Vines, Sierra Vista Winery and Vineyard, Irish Winery, Charles B. Mitchell Vineyards., Amador Cellars, and Chamber and Chambers. Tahoe Women’s Services is pleased to have five returning wineries and six new wineries pouring at the Chocolate Festival. This year five wineries return to support Tahoe Women’s Services Chocolate Festival.
Truckee River Winery
The region’s local winery, Truckee River Winery, is happy to be returning to the Chocolate Festival this year to support Tahoe Women’s Services and boasts it is proud to be the “highest and the coldest vineyard in the world.”
A small winery that produces 1,000 cases a year; because of their size Truckee River is able to handcraft each wine with special attention to detail. All of their wines are produced in Truckee.
Festival goers can ook forward to tasting two wines from Truckee River, a 2004 Pinot Noir and a 2004 Zinfandel. According to their website their Pinot Noir is “a very delicate Pinot with the complexity, depth, and soft tannins” it is a “wine with rich berry accents, flavors of cola, floral undertones, and a hint of spice.” Their Zinfandel is “bold with deep dark purple color and intense flavors of raspberry, cassis and cloves wrapped in soft oak and tannins.”
Owner Russ Jones said he feels that the Chocolate Festival is a great event because of the cause. He asked, “Everyone wants to support Tahoe Women’s Services, don’t they?”
www.truckeeriverwinery.com
M2 Vintners Inc.
Coming back for a second year to support Tahoe Women’s Services, M2 Vintners Inc. is a small winery located in Lodi, Calif., which was founded in 2004 by Chris Matheny and Layne Montgomery to create artisan wines. Because they are a winery without vineyards, M2 is able to produce its fantastic wines by sourcing out the best grapes from each region and handcrafting each wine.
They have been known to buy Clone Six Cabernet grapes from Rutherford in the Napa Valley and Old Vine Zinfandels from a vineyard in Lodi which has 91 year old vines. Their philosophy is “to allow the fruit to express itself while making a balanced wine that is approachable and age-worthy.”
M2 plans to bring an assortment of 2005 wines to the Chocolate Festival such as Napa Valley Cabernet, a Petite Sirah as well as a Red Wine Trio Blend. According to their website the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, from Napa Valley, is very reminiscent of another varietal, the Cabernet Franc. The winemaker’s notes describe “the aromatics emanating from the barrel were that of bright fruit, including cherry, raspberry and boysenberry as well as hints of all spice and cinnamon.” The Petite Sirah is described as having “notes of black pepper, tobacco and leather” which will immediately fill one’s palate. M2’s Red Wine Trio is a mix of 40 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Syrah, and 20 percent Petite Sirah. The Trio is described as a “complex and layered wine with intriguing aromas of red and black berry flavors.”
Chris Matheny says that M2 is thrilled to return to the Chocolate Festival this year remarking that “last year was a wonderful event for us.”
www.m2wines.com.
Fawnridge Winery
Stewart and Stephanie Perry, owners of Fawnridge winery, moved to Auburn in 1989 after living in North Lake Tahoe for 15 years. In 2000 Stewart and Stephanie Perry decided to pursue their love of wine and open a vineyard on their property in Auburn. In 2002 the Perrys planted their first grapes, Barbera and Syrah. In 2004 they started building their winery in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada just north of Auburn.
Nine of Fawnridge’s wines have been entered into various competitions receiving seven medals. Perhaps, the most prestigious competition entered was the 31st Orange County Commercial Wine Competition — the largest judged competition of California wines. This year 3,150 wines were entered, three of which belonged to Fawnridge who took home two medals.
Stephanie Perry emphasized that Fawnridge is a small boutique winery run by her and her husband producing ultra-premium wines. They plan to bring four varietals to the Chocolate Festival, a 2005 Chardonnay, a 2001 Syrah, a 2002 Merlot and a non-vintage Port which has received a medal in every competition entered. The Syrah has a creamy texture and a soft, balanced finish which makes it great with food or alone. An American favorite the Merlot has spicy flavors of plum, blackberry and black cherry.
www.fawnridgewine.com
Tin House Winery
A small family owned and operated winery, Tin House is returning to the Chocolate Festival for its second year. This winery concentrates on three varietals: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah all of which capture the unique essence of California’s Central Coast.
Tin House owners Susan and Greg Franks participate in every aspect of the winemaking process, from selection to production. According to their website, their son, Alec Franks and his wife Stacy Franks, Tin House’s enologist, handcraft each vintage. Their wines have consistently won Bronze, Silver, Gold or Double Gold in every competition in which they have been entered. Susan Franks admits that because they are such a small winery, producing about 1,000 cases a year, they are extremely choosy as to where they pour their wines, typically choosing only one or two events.
Susan Franks explains that they are returning to support the Tahoe Women’s Services Chocolate Festival because it is a “worthwhile cause.”
www.tinhousewinery.com
Ehrhardt Estates Winery
Rich in history the Ehrhardt Estates Winery has been growing wine grapes since the 1960s. In 2002 the Herzog Company established Ehrhardt Estates Winery. Catherine Baranek explained that Ehrhardt Estates is proud to produce “well balanced wines that are enjoyable as they are.”
Ehrhardt Estates is a small boutique winery producing about 3,500 cases of wine a year. Because they are located close to Sonoma, the vineyards enjoy cool evenings with rare days of over 100 degrees. Their first varietal produced was Chenin Blanc which has been joined by Petite Sirah and a Late Harvest Chenin Blanc. Currently they are bottling an Old Vine Merlot.
Another new release is the 2004 Petite Sirah which is 100 percent estate grown. According to Ehrhardt website the wine has “full berry flavors that are spiced with pepper and hints of leather.” One of their sweeter wines is the 2005 Late Harvest Chenin Blanc called “Marie.” This wine has flavors of honey, pineapple and orange. Their Chenin Blanc 2004 is an award winning wine wining 98 points, Best of Class in Region, and Best of Region at the 2004 California State Fair Wine Competition. In addition it won a gold medal at the 2005 San Francisco International Wine Competition.
Baranek is excited to return to the Chocolate Festival because she “appreciates the work” done by Tahoe Women’s Services. Having known people directly affected by sexual assault she understands how necessary services like those provided by TWS are.
www.ehrhardtestateswinery.com
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 October 2007 )
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